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Clio Rear Brakes Lock On when Reversing

46K views 42 replies 30 participants last post by  Ralph 
#1 ·
Hi All

I have a Clio 1.2 everything fine till yesterday.
Put car on drive and when I came to reverse off it wouldn't move - it tries to reverse and raises up the suspension!

If I move forwards the brakes crash off with a bang but as soon as I reverse they lock on again.

Any ideas?
 
#28 ·
I experienced the same problem, (2001 Clio drum brakes) some horrible noises when braking whilst reversing. I got the car home, reversed onto the drive, then both rear brakes were solid, the car was half on drive and half on pavement. I managed to get the car back about on the drive, but both tyres skidded back.

About 3 weeks before, I stripped, cleaned and inspected the shoes, as there was an MOT advisory, handbrake travel problem. The only problem seemed to be brake collecting around various parts of the shoes.

The next day, dreading what I would find I jacked up each weel in turn, and found each would rotate freely, so not a bearing fault. I inspected both sets of shoes, the full handbrake linkage under the car.

Nothing was wrong, Ive reassembled it and not had any further problems in 3 weeks (300 miles), very strange.
 
#29 ·
david, have a look at post 24 above which discusses the handbrake lever. its important that it sits in the right position against the shoes. What you describe happened to me. I'd reverse the car and one of the back wheels would lock as if it had hit a kerb. The brake lining comes off the shoes and jams when reversing. If you let it go too long then it makes a series of very loud banging noises intermittently when driving forward as well. I'd fit new shoes on both sides unless you can find something else definitely wrong with the handbrake operating lever (the one in the drum).

I don't know why the lining isn't obviously off the shoe. Maybe it comes loose at one end first and its then free to jam? If its left then maybe the whole lining comes off? With mine the lining came off completely on at least one shoe, but as I described above it made noises going forward too. Hth
 
#32 ·
Hi, I have had this problem, on and off for some months now. Its the n/s rear and it raise up when I go to pull away first this in morning. If I reverse a little it releases. Its now been to 2 different garages of 3 occassions and first garage said they dont know whats wrong after adjusting handbrake cable on two different ocassions. Then another garage, said they had oiled or grease it and which seem to solve the problems for about a month and then this morning and yesterday it happened again. It raised up on the suspension and its usually when I have parked up in the rain. I am reluctant to keep taking it to garages and paying for them to say we have greased it or we dont know whats wrong and then the problem re-occurring. Also the brakes judder when brake at speed. However the brakes have been looked at on many occasions and recently had MOT. Any suggestions? Im thinking of just going ahead and having brakes and drums replaced anyway as I cant keep getting into car with fingers crossed it will move, but as money is tight, dont wanna be paying out if its a simple fix, but if simple fix why cant garages sort it once and for all :confused: Any advice would be appreciated. I have a 1998 1.6 clio. Im not good with cars, so taking them off myself it not really an option. Thanks for your time
 
#33 ·
hi - it sounds as if the brake linings might be loose as thats what happened to me - the car rose up on the suspension. But you've said it happens in the rain and I'm wondering if its because the shoes have rusted to the drums in the damp. You could try leaving the car in gear rather than putting the handbrake on if you're leaving the car parked overnight or for a long period. New shoes are probably about £20-£30 for four and I guess I'd take an evening to fit them, so probably take a garage an hour or so. They're more efficient and know what they're doing and so on... Maybe £70 parts and labour altogether?
 
#34 ·
I have had this problem on a few cars I have owned the last one was a Peugeot 309 back end lifting when reversing and the cause was a leaking cylinder and fluid had got on the lining so I had to change the cylinder and linings.
The worst thing was the linings were not worn and I was told to boil the lining to get rid of the fluid but I don't know if that works but I bought a new set to be on the safe side.

Andy
 
#35 ·
I looked at a Clio with this problem a few weeks back and could see nothing wrong with it,
linings were bonded ok with little ware, no leaks but there's a bump pressed into
the back plate that lines the shoes up and I suspect
that the edge of the shoes are riding over the edge of
this, I put a very small amount of brake grease right
on the edge of this and it's been fine since but I suspect
it's due to tolerances in after market shoes and that
some org maker ones would cure it for good.
 
#36 ·
I have just had a similar problem and I was able to find this post in the forum regarding brakes seizing up. The problem miraculously disappeared but I took the drum off in any case and out popped a detached brake lining. At least I had an idea of what the likely fault was, which meant I could run the car for short distances until I could investigate. What was wrong with rivets? Actually the question should be - why don't they put discs on all 4 wheels, it must be cheaper to manufacture.
 
#37 ·
........What was wrong with rivets? Actually the question should be - why don't they put discs on all 4 wheels, it must be cheaper to manufacture.
Bonding should be as strong as rivets. But depends on who does the bonding. Many dodgy makers out there

Drums is actually cheaper given need for handbrake mechanism
But ABS drove the change cos that is easier on discs
 
#38 ·
Over the years I have seen a few linings and pads coming adrift..and its always been the same company they have been bought from..I wont say what company in public because of the obvious but I will never use their products because of it..to me bonding has always been the wrong way to do things and call me old fashioned if you wish but good old rivets have done the job well over many years and I find it hard to understand why many manufacturers have discontinued the practice..:idunno:
 
#39 ·
Bonding brake lining to the shoes has many advantages. First is the cost of manufacture and the reduced scrap rate during manufacture. As brake manufacturers have to bond brake pads anyway the bonding process is readily available.

Plus the lining will have an increased surface area of around 5% to 10% and the risk of worn linings exposing the rivets resulting in excessive drum wear. Also should a riveted lining be exposed to excessive heat there is the added risk of the lining cracking around the rivet holes due to uneven heat disapation. To be honest it is much rarer to see brake pads delaminating yet they have a smaller surface area plus work at much higher temperatures.

In my experience this problem seems to be mainly related to Renault Clios so I suspect it is a design problem rather than a brake lining bonding problem. I have came across the problem were both original and after-market brakes shoes are used. From my experience I believe the problem is mainly due to the porosity of the cast iron used in drum manufacture. One thing I have noticed is that when this occurs I gently heat the drum using a hot air gun and you can actually see the moisture rising to the surface. It seems that the high moisture content causes the lining to stick to the braking surface if the drum resulting in high shear forces being applied to the lining. It may also be that the rear drums rarely get warm enough to dispel and moisture present.

These are just my opinions and I have not been able to prove my theories.
 
#40 ·
.........In my experience this problem seems to be mainly related to Renault Clios so I suspect it is a design problem rather than a brake lining bonding problem. .................
Noel.... I'm shocked :d
You're not saying that Renault designers could have messed up something so basic as brake shoe design ??? :devil::devil::devil:
(sarcasm :d)

Gotta say I've never had a bonded shoe or pad delaminate and have seen rivetted shoes cracking as you noted... though never failed.
 
#41 ·
Have always suspected Clio brake drums were not the best, lots of things on Clio's seems to be bought on price rather than function.
 
#42 ·
Brake drums tend to need more maintenance than discs mainly due to the fact that brake dust can't escape and the accumulation of dust reduces heat disapation plus it gunges up the internal brakes linkage system. In my opinion well designed and quality manufactured brake drum systems will outlast any disc system and can be just as efficient as rear discs. I think this has been well established and recognised in commercial vehicles. When I had my Clio MKI I needed to remove the drums at least once a year and the original drums where still in good nick after 20 years. Whether that was due to better quality components or due to my regular mantenance I never found out but I do believe it is probably due to both.

The better designed rear drums on my Honda have not needed any maintenance - yes I have checked them annually but only to inspect.

The argument about drums being less efficient when it comes to ABS isn't strictly true after all the first ABS systems fitted to aircraft many moons ago were drum type.

As a side note one of the most efficient car handbrake systems I have ever came across was on the old Saab's were the handbrake operated as separate drums inside the front discs - yes a handbrake that worked on the front wheels. It was purely mechanical with no interface with the hydraulics. Other cars such as some of the older Vauxhalls and Toyota have a similar system on the rear - sadly these have also been discontinued on most most modern models.
 
#43 ·
Must admit the hand brake on the Clio is one of the best I have come across it will lock the wheels going forward and seems to have a much greater mechanical advantage in reverse were nothing save being towed backwards by a Cat D9 is about move it, maybe that's why the linings come off.
 
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